Google releases a slightly improved version of Android - but with Android Marshmallow, it’s pulled out all the stops. The latest version of Android adds new features like the battery-saving Doze mode and the brand new Google Now on Tap – and it’s the biggest update we’ve seen to Google’s mobile OS in a ages. Still not sure if you should upgrade? Here are 14 reasons we think Marshmallow is the best version of Android we’ve seen.
1. Android Pay
Much like Apple Pay, Android Pay allows users to store credit and debit card information on their smartphones, and then wirelessly pay for goods and services quickly and securely. To make it more secure, Android Pay uses a virtual account number instead of your own, and also keeps a detailed history of purchases made using the app.
If you’re unlucky enough to lose your phone, Google has you covered. Android Device Manager makes it easy to remotely lock and wipe your Android device in the event of loss or theft.
The only catch? Android Pay has been in the US since late September, but we still don’t know when it’s coming to the UK.
2. USB Type-C
USB Type-C represents the holy grail of connections. It’s silly-fast, can be used any way up – and it’s going to be the most commonly used connection in the next few years. What’s more, it also allow for much faster charging than conventional cables: it can fully charge a Nexus 6P in around two hours.
As you’d expect, Android Marshmallow is futureproofed with built-in USB Type-C support, so as long as your smartphone has the connection, Marshmallow can take advantage of it.
3. Adoptive Storage
Most Android phones allow you to insert some form of memory card, but previous versions of Android always treated it as a separate entity. While that’s great if you want to swap memory cards around – it can be annoying if you want to use the memory card as a permanent storage solution. That’s where Adoptive Storage comes in. Rather than treating the memory card as a separate storage space, Marshmallow can treat it like the rest of the memory on your phone. The result? You can use your memory card space without any fuss.
4. Now on Tap
One of the biggest changes to Android Marshmallow comes in the form of Google Now. Although it may look the same as before, Google Now is now pre-baked into every area of the OS, and it’s cleverer than ever. Google Now’s focus is now on “context”, and that means the digital assistant will be better at understanding where you are, and what you’ll need to know as a result.
5. System UI Tuner
Marshmallow fixes one of our biggest pet peeves with the Android operating system. Google’s mobile OS uses the status bar at the top of your screen for key information about reception, battery life and more – but it can get crowded and scruffy at times.
With the System UI Tuner, users can now add their battery percentage to the system tray, and choose which other things they want to be displayed there. The result? Your Android phone will only show the information you want to see.
6. Improved Copy and Pasting
Although it seems like a relatively simple task, previous versions of Android made cutting and pasting text a fiddly, frustrating affair. Before, Google’s OS forced you to go to the top of the screen to cut, copy and paste – but Marshmallow lets you hover just above the selected text. If that sounds familiar, that’s because it’s exactly what iOS already does – but we’ll forgive Google as it’s a vast improvement over its original solution.
7. Custom Google tabs
Google Chrome is one of the best mobile browsers around, and Marshmallow makes it easier for developers to integrate into their own, third-party apps. That means you don’t have to switch applications when you need to browse the web, and it also means that when you are let loose on Googles browsers, all of your passwords and logins are stored and ready to go. The result? The whole browsing experience is much more seamless.
8. Clear permissions system
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